Inline skates, which are commonly known in the an, have two or more wheels arranged in a single straight line. Inline skates are often referred to as “Rollerblades®” after the popular brand name. Unlike quad skates which have two front and two rear wheels, inline skates have the aforesaid single straight line of wheels which makes learning the art of inline skating, including the skill of braking the forward or backward movement of the rolling wheels, more complex. The foregoing is due to the fact that typical recreational inline skates have a stop or brake (e.g., friction bar/pad) at the back end of the skate which is forced down to engage the travel surface in order to brake/stop forward or backward movement of the skate.
Accordingly, a person (i.e., trainee) attempting to learn to skate using skates having inline/tandem roller wheels wherein the roller wheels are mounted in a straight line must initially master two skills, namely the art of balancing on the single line of roller wheels and the art of braking. A trainee typically overcorrects for any front-to-back unbalance condition and causes the roller wheels to move uncontrollably until the trainee person hills down. Compounding this front-to-hack motion problem is the tendency for the inexperienced trainee to have his/her ankles bow-in or bow-out, thereby causing loss of control of the skates and risking potential ankle injury. The trainee must also master the ability to controllably stop or brake his/her forward or backward motion. As mentioned above, the typical inline skate has a brake pad installed in the heel of the skate, and to engage this brake pad a person's weight must be balanced on one in-line skate while the other in-line skate is tipped up at the front while pushing down at the heel to engage the brake pad. The aforementioned balancing and braking skills take some practice to learn.
Accordingly, it is the purpose and object of the present invention to provide an improved device for learning the skills of balancing and braking control on in-line skates. The present invention makes the process of mastering the art of inline skating easier and safer, and importantly reduces the risk of injury.